“Not every washashore has a couple of non-washashores in their corner.”
“You mean you,” she said. “They don’t have you.”
“And Joe.”
Maddie slid up from the covers, pulling the sheet around her. “Joe?”
Rex nodded. “He called a while back and said Nancy told him about your idea, which, unlike her, he thinks is great. So I asked him to go with me when I brought a batch of scones to the town hall. But before you think I tried bribing them with pastry, it’s something I like to do now and again. I do own property up-island, if you recall. Anyway, Joe told the Board president—who happened to be there and who I’ve happened to know for years—that you’re more than capable of putting together a successful business for up-island. He also mentioned that you’re Wampanoag.”
Before she could respond, Rex reached up and rubbed her back. “So what do you think? Are you prepared to invest your time and money—it will take lots of both—and your future on this island? Can we start spreading the news? And can I tell your grandmother it’s okay with you that she moved back into her old bedroom?”
Maddie winced. “What?”
“She called this morning while you were still asleep. She said she was freezing in the cabin and wanted to go home. Personally, I think your son had something to do with her change of heart.”
Maddie laughed. “Please say you didn’t tell her I was here.”
“Let’s put it this way. This morning, while it was still dark, Rafe moved her stuff—and her—back into the cottage. She noticed you weren’t there. Rafe said you were at a friend’s in Edgartown, but, as you know, our Nancy’s pretty sharp. So when she called she asked me if you’d been with me all night. I didn’t reply. Which was when she said you’d better not do anything stupid like get married and then change your mind.” He grinned.
“Argh!” Maddie cried. “You drive me crazy, Rex Winsted.” At least when she’d texted Rafe last night, he hadn’t pried. In truth, he’d seemed more excited to tell her that he and Joe were going scalloping at dawn.
“I’m supposed to drive you crazy,” Rex said with a chuckle. Then he leaned over and kissed her.
In spite of her stomach tumbling again, Maddie kissed him back. Then she realized, this time the sensation inside her likely wasn’t butterflies at all, but premenstrual cramps. “Hold that thought until I return,” she said, grabbing her purse and making her way to the bathroom.
After closing the door behind her, Maddie leaned against the sink. The bookshop might happen, it really might. Her father would soon be there for Christmas and, apparently, Grandma would, too. She would hug Grandma. And yes, she would tell her father and Rafe about her plans. Her father would be happy; Rafe would be ecstatic; and Grandma would get over her snit as long as Rafe was there. Best of all, the family would be together again in the beautiful “new” cottage Grandma would come to love, if it was the last thing Maddie did.
Removing a tampon from her purse, Maddie quickly checked herself. She fully expected she was bleeding. But she was not.
Steadying herself on the marble counter of the vanity, she knew she’d been so busy she hadn’t been paying attention to her body. Except to know that in the past year, the timing of her periods wasn’t always predictable.
Then she realized what the godawful problem was.
And that it wasn’t fair.
She’d finally found a man who was special and seemed to care about her—and her interests—and who looked like he might stick around. On top of that, they had wonderful sex. But now, dear God, her hormones, along with her uterus, were drying up. Her time had come for the dreadedmenopause. Which meant her physical desires were on the verge of shutting down. Soon they would be done. Over.Finito.
Oh, sure, she might have her little bookshop. She’d have her family and a new life. But without the ability to have a real relationship—including the physical part—would she be able to love completely?
With the kind of self-pity Maddie detested, she grasped her stomach, hung her head, and thought,Sometimes life really sucks.
Standing in Rex’s bathroom, staring into the mirror, Maddie reminded herself that next year she’d be forty-six. But wasn’t that too young for menopause? Or for perimenopause—its precursor?
She leaned closer to the glass, searching but not seeing any wrinkles, sags, or other vicious signs of getting old. She missed her friends back in Green Hills. If only she had an island friend, a woman her age who might be going through the same thing. But the only females she knew either were too old or not old enough.
Then another horrid thought surfaced:hot flashes. When she’d still been teaching full time at the college, she’d shared an office with a professor named Gwen. A decade older than Maddie, Gwen had worn short-sleeved shirts for two long winters and opened the windows, welcoming the icy air. Other than a rare negative comment about her students, the cost of living, or life in general, Gwen never shared personal issues. But the reason behind the flush that often laced her cheeks, and the fact that she often fanned herself with whatever textbook was within reach, clearly announced her condition.
Lifting her chin now, Maddie wondered how long it would be before she developed puckery skin, and if her neck would be the first to go. Rex was older than she was, but so far, his skin was fine. Of course, he was a man, and from what she’d also witnessed at the college, men tended to escape a major downturn at middle age, often becoming more handsome, until later when they nosedived into old age all at once.
And how would Rex react? Would he still want to be with her if she couldn’t match his bedroom enthusiasm? He was attentive, but had he been around a woman during what Grandma once distastefully referred to as “the change”?
Maddie puffed her cheeks and pushed out a burst of air.
Then—yay!—her senses kicked in: Rex’s sister, Taylor! If she was older than Maddie, it wasn’t by much. They’d met a few times; Taylor was, after all, married to Kevin, the genius contractor. Could Maddie foster a friendship with her and find out if she’d already experienced the inevitable? As a bonus, since Maddie hadn’t yet seen an island gynecologist, maybe Taylor could steer her to one. It might be awkward to ask Rex how she could befriend his sister, so maybe they could get together with Taylor and Kevin during the holidays. Would that seem contrived? Then Maddie remembered that the holidays included New Year’s Eve. She could have a party and show off the cottage restoration. It would be only natural for the contractor—and his wife—to be invited. Unless Taylor backed out of that, too.
“Hey!”
Maddie flinched as Rex called to her from the other side of the bathroom door. “Are you okay in there?”
